Vinoba Basti, Sri Ganga Nagar, Rajasthan, India

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Ganganagar, also called Sri Ganganagar, (in Hindi: गंगानगर or श्री गंगानगर ) is a city in Rajasthan state of western India. It is the administrative headquarters of Ganganagar District.

Contents [hide]
1 History
2 Settlement
3 Economy
4 Climate
5 Agriculture
6 Geography
7 Demographics
8 Educational Institutes
9 Attractions
10 References



[edit] History
It is named after the Maharaja of Bikaner Maharaja Ganga Singh who established it. It is said that the Maharaja wanted a city based on the design of Paris to be established and hence the map of the Old Ganganagar city will give you a glimpse of the map of Paris.


[edit] Settlement
The town is divided into small blocks. The town is well maintained and offers many Parks and Grounds for rejuvenation and Enjoyment. They also provide space for playing Cricket, Football, Badminton etc. Main Parks Include Nehru Park, Indravatika Park. In the town, one will find one or two Parks for every BLOCK. Most of the people are simple and one can find elder males wearing Kurta - Pyjama (Traditional Dress) and the elder females wearing Sari while the youngsters are cool and can be seen sporting Jeans and T-Shirt. Since the last two-three years, there has been a rapid increase in the population of the town, mainly due to migration of people from neighbouring small towns and villages. This has led to the expansion of the town and has led to the formation of many showrooms of international brands of shoes and clothing such as Reebok, Nike, Adidas, Monte Carlo, John Players, Peter England, Cotton County, Sony etc.


[edit] Economy
It's a testimony to land transformation: Desert land was converted to a lush green town credited to the efforts of the Maharaja who brought the Gang canal which carries the excess waters of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh to the region, making Ganganagar known as "the food basket of Rajasthan" "Suicide woes fill the 'food basket'", "The Times of India", 27 July 2003, .


[edit] Climate
The climate of Sri Ganganagar is of extreme type. This means that this region is very hot in summer where the temperatures almost reach 50 degree Celsius. This region is the hottest in India. The temperature in winter are also quite low. The temperatures almost dip below 0 degree Celsius. "Temperature Regimes", "Water Resource Department - Government Of Rajasthan", .


[edit] Agriculture
Main crops of this area are cotton,wheat and mustard. One thing this area is very famous for is Kinnu(a variant of orange). For the past 10-15 years, farmers of this region are facing tough times. Their main cash crop, cotton has almost collapsed. Although still you can see the long queues of tractor-trollies in the city in winter, but the overall production of food grains has dropped considerably. The decline in the crops is mainly due to a very small insect, "Heliothis"(in local language - sundy)"The Helix", "CSIRO", . This worm has affected the cotton crops very badly. There are other factors as well like the rates of crops. Rates of cotton are still the same where they were in 1992-1993. Although the other crop wheat has got a hike in rates and has helped people recover to some extent, but still, the overall sale result is not as desired by the farmers . Another problem which affects the farmers of this region is the continuous water tussle with Punjab(the neighbouring state). [what?]"Sri Ganganagar Travel Guide", "World 66", .village like 33gg near chunawadh and kurasia are highly productive lands.


[edit] Geography
Ganganagar is located at 29.92° N 73.88° E[1]. It has an average elevation of 164 metres (538 feet).


[edit] Demographics
As per 2001census[2]by the GOVT of India , Ganganagar had a population of 210,788. Males constitute 55% of the population and females 45%. Ganganagar has an average literacy rate of 71%, higher than the national average of 59.5%: male literacy is 76%, and female literacy is 64%. In Ganganagar, 13% of the population is under 6 years of age. Majority in population are Sikhs and Hindus while only a few people constituting other sects stay here. The main languages spoken in the town are Bagri, Marwadi, Punjabi and Hindi.


[edit] Educational Institutes
The city has been a center of learning since its early ages. Many notable education institutes include:

Schools:

Guru Harkrishan Public School
Bhopal Wala Arya Higher Sen. Sec. School
B.S.F Senior Secondary School
Good Shepherd Public School
Bihani Children's Academy
Nosegay Public School
Sacred Heart Convent School
Tiny Tots Public School
Saraswati Public School
Seth G. L. bihani S.D. Sen. Sec. School
Arorvansh Public School
Colleges:

Sri Guru Nanak Khalsa College
Seth G.L.Bihani S.D.(P.G.) College
Sri Guru Nanak Khalsa Law College
Govt. Law College
Maharshi Dayanand (PG) College
CH. Ballu Ram Godara Girls College

[edit] Attractions
This town is famous for its many farms and fields. Main attractions include Gol Bazaar, Birbal chowk, Sukharia Circle, and the Hindumal Kot Border(Indo-Pak). There are many big and famous temples and Gurdwara's here like The Durga mandir, Hanuman temple, Balajee dham. A very well known and visited Gurudwara Shri Budha Johad (See: Massa Ranghar history)is located about 50 KM from Ganganagar. There are many hotels in the town. You will notice that all of them are located near the Railway Station because a tired traveller finds it easy if the Hotel is near the Station.